Turn Purple 2 Blue

Strategy for Saving Democracy

David Pepper’s Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual for Every American

David Pepper, former Democratic Party Chairman of Ohio, has followed his exposé of the Republican state legislature strategy in Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines with his new book: Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual for Every American. The new book answers the question most asked after the first book – yes, but how do we fix it?

The Two Battle Problem

In his second book, David Pepper first recaps his argument that Democrats are losing because we are not engaging in the same battle as MAGA. Typically Democrats have had more interest in Federal elections and policies and using them to enact policies to reflect American preferences. This leads to an overemphasis on a few “swing states” and Federal candidates, with many voters only participating in a presidential election cycle. This preference is so strong that Democrats even have to work hard to turn out our base for Federal midterm elections! The Republican strategy has been to exploit weaknesses in our democracy so that they can enact their unpopular policies state by state. They have long focused on taking over state legislatures through subversion of the census, extreme gerrymandering, and radical judicial appointments. Once in power, Republican legislators enact voter suppression laws and are difficult to dislodge. Since most legislation is passed in the U.S. at the state level, their efforts decisively affect legislation on key issues such as guns, voting, abortion, the environment, etc.

The result of the two battle problem? Past Democrats have ceded victory to Republicans in state legislatures. State and local contests are not funded or supported by the Democratic party. Rural districts are abandoned. There are large numbers of uncontested state house elections, which allow extremist, counter majorian people to get elected and stay in power.

The consequences are dire. Uncontested seats allow Republicans to hide their policies from debate, which allows private interests to continue to siphon off public monies. Our democratic system expects there to be an adversarial process- that is the only way we can hold our elected officials accountable.

Uncontested state house elections lead to extreme policies tested and won at the state level, which ultimately affects us at the national level. Texas’ abortion ban which included a private bounty encouraging Texans to sue doctors was written by a Republican State Senator who ran unopposed in 2022—despite the fact that the ban is deeply unpopular. According to polls, only 11% of Texans support a total abortion ban. The Ohio six-week no-exceptions abortion ban that forced the ten-year-old Ohio girl to seek an abortion in Indiana was introduced by a Republican who ran unopposed in 2022—despite the fact that less than 10% of Ohioans support a ban with no exceptions. The author of the Mississippi abortion ban that ultimately led to the Dobbs decision was written by a Republican who ran unopposed in 2019, which was the year after the law was adopted.

The Solution: Fight both battles!

David Pepper points out that we could devote just 15% of the money donated to aspirational federal races (ex. Amy McGrath in 2020 raised 100 million dollars and lost by 10%) to contest state races. There would be a meaningful impact, even if many races are not won in the current round. Indeed much of what needs to be done can be likened to “sweat equity” where money is leveraged to a bigger impact by doing the work. We need to build voting infrastructure, and recruit and support candidates – ideally no one should run unopposed.

Scaling Up: Dedicating your Entire Footprint to Democracy

The rest of his book is dedicated to laying out a blueprint for how the average citizen can leverage their own network or “footprint” to fight for democracy. There are so many good ideas there that we will explore them individually. This month we are discussing Practicing David Pepper’s Saving Democracy Conversations.

What you can do right now

There are good opportunities to get involved in important state races right now. Abortion, education and voting rights are on the line. Turn Purple 2 Blue will be posting actions as they become available. We’re watching two states right now:

1. A special election in New Hampshire: A democratic win here would remove republican control from the NH state house. Read more here.

2. Virginia Elections: The entire state house is up for reelection, and there have been some redistricting changes. We need to hold the Democrat’s slim majority in the State Senate, but there is an opportunity to take back the House of Delegates. Find Virginia Actions here.

Can we undo decades of ceding the battle of the State Legislatures? To paraphrase a Chinese proverb: The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now. So let’s get started!

Why Should We Care about Rural Voters?

The progressive activist organization Indivisible answers that question for us. Indivisible has one of the largest rural footprints in the country, with rural groups and members in all 50 states. Below, they explain why we Democrats need to seek out and encourage rural voters to join our coalition in order to win elections and turn our country around.

Rural organizing is severely underinvested in, due in large part to the way rural areas are stereotyped as homogenous, MAGA strongholds. The idea that rural areas are unwinnable and marginal is shared by some campaigns and Democratic Party leaders, resulting in critical resources being pulled away from progressive rural organizing.

That’s a huge mistake. Rural areas are more diverse politically and racially than some might expect. People of color make up a fifth of the rural population and an even larger percentage in the Deep South and in the West. And contrary to stereotype, Democratic candidates routinely win over 30% of the vote in many rural areas. In an era of close elections, these rural votes are just as important as votes in urban and suburban areas.

The impact of grassroots efforts in rural areas can be seen in past elections:

In Georgia, Black rural voters mobilized to help re-elect Sen. Raphael Warnock.
In Arizona, progressive voters in the tribal nations as well as those in rural counties turned out to help defeat Blake Masters and Kari Lake.
In Alaska, Indivisible rural group Stand Up Alaska played a crucial role in Rep. Mary Peltola’s upset wins in last year’s midterms.

And it’s more than just elections…

Rural communities also are on the frontlines of some of the biggest battles we face as a country:

As fossil fuel companies threaten our climate, air, and water, rural Indivisible groups have fought against oil pipeline projects across the country.
They’re challenging the power of corporate monopolies by fighting for the right to repair.
They oppose book bans in schools and work to keep local libraries open as critical community hubs.
And folks in these communities are often the most endangered by the spate of anti-LGBTQ+, anti-choice laws being passed across the country and the stigma that comes with them.

There is growing grassroots energy in rural communities across the country, and you can be part of it! Your donations and hard work are helping rural groups fuel that energy to drive lasting change. Visit Indivisible’s rural network, Indivisible Rural Caucus, to get involved in this critically important area. In addition, check out Force Multiplier’s Rural Democracy Initiative’s Rural Victory Fund, which supports key grassroots groups from rural areas in eight states. And keep your eyes out for grassroots actions coming from rural organizations posted on Turn Purple 2 Blue!

On Sept. 12th, Force Multiplier supports groups doing the critical work of organizing rural voters through the Rural Democracy Initiative’s Rural Victory Fund. Please join them by registering and donating. Why? It’s easy to assume that rural voters are MAGA supporters. The fact is that in 2020, Biden received 30-40% of the rural vote in key battleground states – and those votes helped Dems win critical Congressional seats and the Presidential election. That said, the margin of victory in seven of those states was less than 2%. To hold the Senate and White House in 2024, we need to protect and expand the rural vote.

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Donate to RAZA

Rural Arizona Action (RAZA) seeks to create more equitable and just systems through advocacy, accountability and leadership training in rural Arizona communities. RAZA was founded as a response to the lack of resources and year-round civic engagement opportunities available in rural Arizona. RAZA and Rural Arizona Engage, their affiliated 501(c)3 organization, educate, advocate and coordinate in rural communities to build communities of educated, empowered and engaged voters. RAZA develops long-term organizing capacity and creates professional development opportunities for rural organizers.

Why Saving Democracy Conversations will Work

This summer I spent visiting with old friends and traveling to Tennessee to meet new activists. I was reading David Peppers’ new book, Saving Democracy, and thinking about how to strengthen our activism for the upcoming elections.

I met new activists in Nashville, preparing for the special legislative session called by the Gov. Lee. There is a lot of energy there – people newly awakening to their political power and learning to use it. They are planning protests and phonebanks. They are teaching people to call their state legislators to demand action. But then they went one step further: talk to your friends and families in red districts. Tell them what is happening, ask them to call!

I met my old friends, Democrats all, but strangely disinterested in national politics. Two I would consider “center left” and they are deeply involved in their own town’s governance and battling trumpies there. But they were uninformed about Biden’s accomplishments, or the terrible straits other states are in. Another friend, a casual voter, voiced the opinion that Trump could beat Biden. But she really didn’t know any details about what has happened the last three years- either advances or defeats.

David Pepper’s major thesis is that to truly solve our democratic crisis, we must use our personal connections to breakthrough to our neighbors. It’s up to us because

Republicans have leveraged gerrymandering to hobble democratic debate.
The federal government imperfectly protects our rights.
The judicial system has been hijacked by radicals using any excuse to fight the culture wars, defined more and more as simply fighting federal control.
We are basically living in two different countries: One where education and reproductive autonomy are legal and one busy banning black history, queer books, and abortion.

Is there room for persuasion in our polarized nation?

The media enjoys the false narrative that our country is 50/50 red and blue. It makes their horse race and poll reporting simpler and more dramatic. But their ratings frame misses:

There has been a vast realignment after Trump, with Never Trumpers leaving the Republican party and calling themselves Independent. 49% of Americans now call themselves Independent.
Even after the largest turnout in a presidential election ever (81 million for Biden and 74 million for Trump, 2.8 million for other), there remains another 80 million people who did not vote.
There are significant generational differences in voters within the parties. The Brookings Institute details how this generational change is dividing the GOP but uniting Democrats.
There are significant gender differences in voters. Gen Z women in the U.S. are now 30 percentage points more liberal than their male counterparts

More and more people are describing MAGA as a cult. Please don’t engage with hardcore trumpies, especially on social media. It’s counterproductive: You will never change a cult member’s mind, and you will waste your time and energy. It’s one of the reasons they do disgusting things – they want the outrage to soak up all of people’s energy.

I would like to make it clear that no one is asking you to engage with trumpies, especially on social media.

Messaging as Activism

To advance in the battle for our democracy, we need to take our activism to the next level. And by that, I mean talking to people who say they are Independents or non-voters- in my rough estimate- that is a national footprint of 120 million opportunities. The key is that all of our personal footprints are important pieces of the national electorate. We know these people, and they will be more likely to listen to someone they know. And maybe they will activate their own footprints!

The Non-Voter. Hey, this has been me! I’ve moved a lot, and local and state elections can be baffling when you do that. It’s hard to find information about the people on the ballot, and sometimes even the job is opaque (looking at you Governor’s Council). So sometimes people just don’t vote, or maybe they leave part of the ballot blank (undervoting). In 2020, when I volunteered as a poll worker, a woman came in and yelled at us because there were other races on the ballot. She only wanted to vote for president. Undervoting is quite common.

Nonvoters’ reasons for not voting also include:

not being registered to vote (29%)
not being interested in politics (23%)
not liking the candidates (20%)
a feeling their vote wouldn’t have made a difference (16%)
being undecided on whom to vote for (10%)

The Independent: Yes, there are some true independents, but mostly, these are people fleeing partisan negativity. 75% of the time, they lean towards one party or the other, and that shows in their voting. In these conversations, avoid negativity about the other party as the only reason to vote. The media is great at covering bad things – not good at all at talking about accomplishments. Again, listening and sharing values is a great place to start. Then just add in, “I really liked how Biden, the democrats, the candidate helped people by reducing drug prices, reforming student loans, building factories on American soil…. Lots of choices here- even better if it’s policy that helped you or someone you know personally.

The 9-Month Challenge

In the next 9 months, I know you will continue to postcard, text, canvas, phonebank and donate. But we will be giving you the tools to take your activism one step further. It’s small conversations- planting little seeds. You’ll be talking to people you know: family, neighbors, dog walkers, Uber drivers, anyone you interact with. We’ll share some messaging ideas -but remember you are leading with your values and experiences.

woman writing on white diary — Photo by Anna Nekrashevich on Pexels.com

women sitting on the bench while talking — Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com

All our small conversations will contain the seeds to nudge people, one category at a time.

Your First Assignment

Your first assignment is to start thinking about the policies you care about in terms of your values. Why do you think voting is important? Why do you think climate mitigation is important? Why do you think gun safety is important? What do your values say about the content of education that public schools should offer? The list is different for each of us. Can you memorize a sentence about your values about any topic you want to engage on?

Lastly, I want to draw your attention to the graphic at the top of this article. It’s from an Indivisible workshop on combatting disinformation, and it’s very useful in setting goals and expectations. All our small conversations will contain the seeds to nudge people, one category at a time. Doris Kearns Goodwin, reminiscing about participating in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, said that it was powered by people connecting their private lives to public policy. I believe that is what is missing in a large portion of the electorate, and that working to change that will make a huge difference in 2024. So let’s get started!

We Need Wins in Virginia this November

In Virginia, our mission is to reclaim a Democratic majority in the House of Delegates while simultaneously bolstering our presence in the Senate. Virginia supported Joe Biden in the 2020 elections, with his winning percentage standing at 54.11%. We faced challenges as Democrats took narrow losses in both 2021 and 2022. However, the tide turned in 2023, as Democrats won victories in special elections.

The Virginia House of Delegates currently seats 48 Democrats and 52 Republicans. With the entire slate of 100 seats up for contention this year, we aim to flip three seats to gain Democratic control. Numerous open seats and retirements fuel our optimism to uphold and potentially expand our majority.

In the Virginia State Senate, where Democrats currently command 22 seats in contrast to Republicans’ 18, the critical threshold to maintain control is a maximum loss of one seat. Once again, the revamped electoral maps could help us retain our Democratic majority.

Our overarching objective is to prevent a GOP trifecta by turning the tables in the House and fortifying our position in the Senate. This strategy aims to act as a formidable counterbalance against Republican Governor Younkin’s extreme agenda.

Take Action to Help

Your Efforts Worked- Victory in Ohio!!!

Last night, Ohio voters soundly rejected Issue 1. This mean-spirited Republican initiative would have toughened the rules for amending the state constitution, making constitutional amendments more difficult to pass. The Republicans’ immediate goal was to defeat a proposition on the docket for this November, which would enshrine abortion rights into the Ohio constitution. Instead, the Republican effort to stack the deck was an embarrassing failure.

The win in Ohio was, as described by one commentator last night, was a shellacking. With more than 1.2 million votes counted, 60% of Ohioans had voted no, compared with 40% who voted yes, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. That margin was enough for the Associated Press and others to call the race.

The Ohio victory joins that of Kansas and Wisconsin in addition to the 2022 midterms in proving that Democratic voters will defend their interests in preserving basic freedoms, including reproductive, civil, and voting rights. The victories were won in both red and purple states, showing the power of Democratic ideals and grassroots power over autocracy.

So what are the Democrats’ take-homes?

First, as political commentator Robert Hubbell put in his substack this morning, turnout matters!! The vote on Issue 1 was deliberately chosen by Republicans for August, a traditionally low turnout period, to cynically try to sneak the initiative through without the Democrats noticing. It failed – we noticed and responded with a high turnout.

Second, grassroots power matters!! Grassroots volunteers contribute both muscle and funding. Every postcard you write, every text or call or donation you make, helps defeat Republican efforts to strip us of our democracy. With the Swing Blue Alliance Vote No in August campaign, which many of you participated in, 1,230 postcard writers sent election info to 40,000 Democratic voters. This translates into only 1-2 packets per writer, which is easily achievable.

So victory is sweet and motivates us to fight back fiercely to protect our constitutional rights. YOU helped to defeat this dangerous proposal. But we can’t rest on our laurels, we must keep up the pressure over the next year. We can do it through grassroots power!

Force Multiplier Montana Fund (Tax-Deductible)

Force Multiplier has identified two strong groups to support: The Forward Montana Foundation and the Western Native Voice Education Project. Both these funds are 501c3s and your contributions are tax deductible. Their outreach to register voters needs early money to be successful.

Donate to Montana Grassroot Groups through Force Multiplier

Forward Montana Foundation works to build political power in Montana’s young people. They focus on leadership development, voter education + registration (including pre-registration of 17 year-olds), issues advocacy, voter turnout. They do year-round registration using community events like music festivals to activate young voters. Largely urban, they also conduct a campus tour that includes rural tribal colleges. Their goal for this election cycle is to register 8,000 voters.

Western Native Voice Education Project Montana’s Native population is about 9%, evenly divided between tribal and urban areas. WNV is active on all eight Montana Indian reservations as well as major urban centers. Their focus is on promoting access to voter registration kiosks and on outreach to youth, especially those turning 18. Their goal is to register 1,000 voters this year. Please note that only donations to the education project of the Western Native Voice group are tax-deductible. You can find their other programs here.

Force Multiplier Ohio Fund (Tax-Deductible)

Force Multiplier raises money for Voter Empowerment Groups who work across the country to ensure that all Americans

CAN + DO VOTE!

Ohio Women’s Alliance An abortion rights ballot initiative this November presents an important opportunity to register + mobilize voters. OHA is the lead statewide group doing signature collection + organizing around this issue. They have a goal of 400,000 voter contacts by phone, text, digital: site-based + in-person canvassing.

Ohio Student Association organizes youth around issues that affect their lives like educational funding, LGBTQ rights + abortion rights. Their goals in 2023 are to support the abortion rights initiative, defeat bills attacking LGBTQ youth + advocate for college + county veteran IDs for voting. They plan to collect 5,000 signatures + turn out the youth vote for the reproductive freedom ballot initiative.

“OSA isn’t about speaking for young people— it’s about empowering young people with the tools to not only speak for themselves, but to organize their communities and build power to win the future we all deserve. “
Rachael Collyer, Program Director

Donate

Both groups are 501c3s and your contributions are tax deductible. “Early Donations” are so important to these groups – don’t wait- they are doing the important work now!

Purple NC: The Synergy between GenZ and Rural Voters

North Carolina, with its 15 electoral votes, continues to be a key state in Federal elections. It’s actually the second most rural state (after Texas); all but 20 counties have less than 50% municipal residents. One in three people live in a rural county.

I highly encourage you to watch this 18 minute interview of Anderson Clayton, age 25, the youngest elected leader in the history of the North Carolina Democratic Party. She is a strong and vocal advocate for rural communities like the one she grew up in, which she believes have often been forgotten by her party. (While you are there, be sure to “like” the video to help spread the message.)

GenZ has stepped up in a big way in North Carolina. These young leaders will be important surrogates for President Biden’s reelection campaign. They are doing the hard work on the ground right now – fine tuning and spreading the Democratic message, registering voters, and electing Democrats up and down the ballot. County parties are very important in NC and can use our donations now to win very important county and municipal races. This will help develop a deep bench for statewide races in 2024 as well.

Donate now to help protect abortion, education, healthcare and LGTBQ rights in NC (and lay important groundwork for 2024.)

Donate to NC Dems

Another great group in North Carolina is Down Home Carolina. We have spotlighted this group for two years now because of its goal to build multiracial power in the small towns and rural places in North Carolina. The narrative that progressive policy has no place in the rural South is wrong — that’s why they work to dismantle the narrative and the power structure that doesn’t work for poor and working-class people.

Donate to Down Home North Carolina

Spotlight on Montana

Holding the Senate Majority is crucial to protecting and expanding our legislative agenda. Having the Senate Majority gives us important powers: the power to set the Senate rules, chair the committees, confirm judges at all levels, and confirm cabinet members. These are powers we must have, especially if we do not regain the US House in 2024. Our Senate majority for 2024 depends on re-electing Senator Jon Tester from rural Montana.

Jon Tester most recently won re-election in 2018 in a state that voted for President Donald Trump by more than 20 points. Tester, who described himself as a moderate in a post-election interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, said he won by localizing the race and discussing the cost of healthcare, access to public lands, veterans, and the cost of higher education.[1]

Senator Tester votes 91% of the time with President Biden. Republicans have already put him on their target list. We need to protect and lift him up. Supporting GenZ and rural grassroot groups in Montana is a great way to do that.

Donate to Montana Grassroot Groups through Force Multiplier

Donate to Senator Jon Tester

You can also donate directly to Senator Tester. The Senator is proud to be a “7 fingered dirt farmer.” He understands his constituents and will fight for them. We need to make sure he can get his message out over GOP disinformation. Since his last election, there have been more Republicans moving to Montana, and the race is considered a toss-up.

Follow him on Twitter Follow him on Facebook

The Rise of AAPI Youth Voters

June 10, 2023 Now is the time to prepare for next year’s election and that means voter education and registration. The Democratic Party has been notoriously poor at outreach and development. To counteract that weakness, TurnPurple2Blue seeks out strong ally and grassroot groups who really connect and do the work on the ground. We can help by funding them, especially in the “off” years (a misnomer if there ever was one.)

That’s why I was so excited to watch the Environmental Voter’s Program (EVP) webinar on the the Rise of AAPI Youth Voters. I highly recommend watching this video! EVP has done great work identifying registered people who care about the environment, but then don’t vote. Their experienced analysis reveals a large new up and coming group of voters that really care about the environment as a public health issue. It’s Asian American Pacific Islander Youth! You will see that they also heavily influence first generation immigrants – who often need language support as well as encouragement to vote. Please donate if you can. Donations to AIPA are even tax deductible! Early money to these groups will have a huge impact!

More about EVP

More about AIPA Vote

Written Report is here